Penguin pedicure helps keepers tell siblings apart!

Our keepers have adopted a creative and colourful solution to help monitor the fluffy new arrivals in Penguin Cove.

In a delightful ‘penguin pedicure’, they carefully paint blue nail varnish on the toes of one chick from each pair in a nest box to ensure they can accurately record health checks, weight and developmental progress.

We are the only facility in the UK to house Magellanic penguins, a species native to South America’s coastal Argentina and Chile.

Jason Keller, Senior Keeper at Blackpool Zoo, said: “We’re delighted to have welcomed lots of new chicks to Penguin Cove. As they grow their size and any markings are very similar, so it’s easy to confuse them, especially with multiple chicks in some nest boxes.

“Painting the toe nails of one from each nest box containing two chicks with blue varnish means we can be sure we are recording all their information correctly.

“We’re looking forward to watching the chicks grow over the summer, it is always wonderful to see them getting braver and exploring more every day.”

In the coming weeks the chicks will start venturing outside their nests and when they are around 12 weeks old keepers will send feather samples off to a specialist lab to find out what gender they are.

Once this is confirmed they will be named and have an ID band fitted for identification. They will also start to slowly explore the pool around this time, with their parents teaching them to swim.

Both parents play a part in raising their young and will take it in turns to feed them regurgitated fish until they are old enough to feed independently.

Blackpool Zoo expanded its Penguin Cove in 2024 by adding a new sanded beach area and increasing the number of nest boxes from six to 11. It is home to 23 adult Magellanic penguins with 10 males and 13 females